I.
*ON THE ARTICLE "NEW TASKS 
AND NEW FORCES".
[March 1905]

A group of seven documents represents successive stages in Vladimir Ilyich's elaboration of the theme "New Tasks and New Forces". Step by step, before the reader, the inner laboratory of Lenin's thought opens up. The basic outlines of the theme are sketched already in the first plan: ... "Unknown channels" ... "countless allies" ... the transfer of part of the purely educational "culturist" work from the shoulders of Party members to those of revolutionary fellow-travellers: "the falling away of work".

Further, these thoughts are partially realized literarily in the first draft of the article "The Burning Question". But Lenin is not satisfied with this draft.

Vladimir Ilyich takes up the "plan" again. Two subsequent versions clarify his thought that the expanding—in breadth and in depth—movement presents to the workers' party insistent demands to put forward new tactical methods of struggle, to display greater flexibility and readiness for the creative elaboration of new organizational forms. Lenin marks what is new that comes with open measurement of forces: "the actual relationship of our party to the class and classes is *revealed*. The role of the Party as the vanguard of the class, as educator and organizer, acquires supreme significance. Until now almost only we spoke, now *hundreds of other voices* [speak]. All the better!"

But Lenin does not rest content; he seeks for the article a concentrated expression.

Everyone speaks of the event of January 9, but introduces this phenomenon into the framework of the ideas of peaceful pre-revolutionary situation. Lenin again emphasizes that about uprising, about combat actions one must now speak differently, and likewise think differently about the organizational encompassing of the masses.

At the very beginning of the fifth document Vladimir Ilyich criticizes his first draft of the article and even the title of the theme itself:

"Not 'the Burning Question,' but 'New Tasks,' 'New Forces.'"

"The article is not fully thought through, not fully worked out. Therefore there is no clear development of a strictly defined thought. This is—newspaper sketches, silhouettes, a conversation, 'thoughts and notes,' not an article".

Now the theme is defined. The clarity introduced into the very formulation of the question is reflected in the new plan of the article:

"Learn differently: in battle",

"A different liberation from work",

"concentration on social-democratic functions".

Finally, in the last concluding plan, which Vladimir Ilyich now gives the heading: "New Tasks and New Forces", a summing-up review is made of the most important moments of the theme, an account is given of the history of transitions from one period of work to another, the impending transition is analyzed, the inertia and ingrained habits of Party members in this new transition are taken into account.

Vladimir Ilyich's search for the exact title for the article goes hand in hand with the clarification of the political campaign he was mapping out.

In the result we have a polished piece—the article: "New Tasks and New Forces", published in No. 9 of *Vperyod*, of March 8 (February 25), 1905. (Coll. Vol. VII, pp. 442–450.)

In printing, several passages from the manuscript of the article "New Tasks and New Forces" were omitted by the editorial board of *Vperyod*, and yet they are reflected in almost all the plans. Most likely the omissions were made because the article was of considerable length, and to divide it into 2 feuilletons would have been inconvenient given the very character of the theme.

In reproducing the article here, we restore fully the original text of the manuscript.